We Educate Young Teens

Tricounty Family Ministries began its Teen Angel program in 1999 after learning that young at-risk girls in the community often had no mentors in their lives to guide them towards a better future.

That first summer, eight girls came to the Center three days a week for classes, plus an occasional field trip. In addition to learning life and social skills, they were encouraged to make personal goals and strive for their dreams.

Oprah Winfrey served as a role model for these girls as she had overcome similar unfortunate life experiences to become one of the most influential women in America. Content from O, The Oprah Magazine, and from her television show became part of the program’s curriculum, with each class focusing on a different topic such as relationships, sex and abstinence, personal boundaries and finances.

Area professionals were then invited to speak to the class, relating a specific topic to their own lives. These speakers, who had worked hard to reach their life goals, became the girls’ mentors and additional positive role models.

The program was gradually broadened to involve both girls and boys in after-school classes at two impoverished area middle schools. Many of these teens, ranging in age from 12 to 16, would have otherwise been overlooked and left with little hope.

But this program has had a dramatic impact on the lives of the more than 100 young people so far who have attended and graduated from these classes. These students have learned they have the power to rise above their circumstances and make better choices in their lives. And just knowing that the TFM volunteer teachers and mentors have donated their time, attention and resources to them has created a special bond that has opened up new horizons for all involved.

A personal story

On a beautiful summer day, Tina Louise* stopped by the Center to ask if she could volunteer. She said she didn’t have anything to do at home. She was 12 years old.

The preteen spent the summer washing dishes, serving food, folding clothes, helping elderly clients with their meals and giving to others. She became a regular member of the TFM family.

After six months, Tina* began to open up to her new friends at TFM, adults whom she had learned to trust. She finally admitted she wasn’t bored at home—she had no home. Instead, she’d been staying with various families that frequented the Center. She described her mother as a drug addict and a prostitute.

After some intervention, Tina* moved to New York to live with her father. She has since returned to Charleston, where she has a job and is making a better life for herself.

Tina* and her generous spirit helped lead us to the realization that other at-risk girls in the community could be reached and—despite their circumstances or the choices made by their parents— could be taught to make positive choices and to take charge of their own lives.

 * Names have been changed.